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Double NAT

KYSYMYS:

I am experiencing connectivity issues in-game but I have already tried some troubleshooting (e.g. Port Forwarding). What can I do to improve my connection and to fix the issues?

VASTAUS:

Online gaming requires a smooth and fast connection to the game service or server. If your gaming platform is behind a Double NAT (NAT = Network Address Translation), you will most likely experience a number of connectivity issues when trying to play online.

In a single NAT situation, all devices behind a router have a private network address. Your router is the devices' gateway to the internet. On the internet, the router has one public IP address.

Double NAT is the name of a scenario in which, simply put, the router is not directly connected to the internet but to another router. Consequently, your router is not receiving a public IP address. This causes problems because your router is not directly visible to our gaming services on the internet.

Double NAT is often found in places such as hospitals, student accommodation, schools, hotels, public sector, pretty much all locations with advanced network installations. To find out if you are in a Double NAT situation, you can try the following:

- Access the settings of your router (as described in this FAQ) and look for WAN (Wide Area Network) status (with visible addresses). Depending on the make and model of your router, this may be called slightly differently. Please check your router's documentation if you have trouble locating the information. Alternatively, you can contact the router manufacturer.- Check the IP address shown there and make note of it. - Next, please visit a website that allows you to check your public IP address. - Compare your public IP address to the one you wrote down earlier. If they are different, you are connected to another local network. This means you are behind a Double NAT.

If this is the case, you can work around the issue by forwarding the ports on the second router as described in this FAQ to the IP address of the first router. This will allow communication to travel directly via both routers and reach the public IP address. However, this will only work if you have already forwarded ports on the first router to your gaming platform during earlier troubleshooting. If you have not done so yet, we suggest you start with this step.

It is possible that the second router may be located out of your reach, for example on your internet service provider's or network administrator's side. In this case you may need to contact them for help with the configuration. As an alternative to the forwarding process you can request a public IP address directly from your ISP or network administrator.